SALT LAKE CITY, June 20, 2019
Kim Borg
Kim Borg, a self-proclaimed nerd, loves to learn. Obsessed with animals, she can often be found at the local zoo. A pop-culture fanatic of many fandoms including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney, and Star Wars, it’s no surprise that Borg’s first novel (written when she was sixteen!) is science fiction, influenced strongly by her favorite authors: James Rollins, Michael Crighton, and Matthew Reilly.
Clearly, the author’s creativity has been evident from a young age. She recalls, “As a child I would create elaborate adventures for my toys and figurines, using toothbrushes or seatbelts when no toys were on hand. I wrote my first story at ten. I turned to filmmaking as a creative outlet during my late teens and early twenties before life got in the way and my creative side took a backseat.”
At 26, after establishing her career, Borg finally had time to be creative again. “It was around this time I rediscovered the novel I wrote at 16,” she says. “I started to update the piece, surprised to realise I was still excited by the narrative. And the underlying themes still reflected my core values. What took one summer to draft as a teenager took five years to rewrite as an adult.”
The final version benefited not only from the author’s newfound life experiences, but also, being a film-buff at heart, inspired by iconic science-fiction and adventure films like Indiana Jones, Avatar, King Kong, The Lost World, and Interstellar.
In fact, Borg and her husband Adrian love movies so much they got married in secret with a film crew and a script they wrote themselves (paying tribute to their favorite films). “We then premiered our Wedding Movie months later to an unsuspecting audience of our friends and family.”
Although currently undertaking a full-time PhD while working part-time, Borg still manages to find time to work on her next story. “The next one is also action-packed and full of adventure as I have tried to channel my inner Matthew Riley,” she says. “But it’s also heavily influenced by my latest TV addiction – Game of Thrones – while also drawing from people and events in my own life, albeit with a heavy fantasy-twist.”
As a new author it’s not always easy to find the right home for one’s manuscript. Borg agrees. “I was attracted to WiDo Publishing™ because their mission is to find ‘darn good stories,'” states Borg. “This meant they were open to a variety of genres, to publishing with new authors. I also liked how they offer greater control to authors through their hybrid imprint E.L. Marker.”
According to Karen Gowen, WiDo’s owner and managing editor, Borg’s manuscript definitely fits into the darn good story category. “I was immediately swept up into Kim’s world, and I especially loved her characters. Sci fi fans are passionate readers always on the lookout for a new offering and author in the genre. They’re going to eat this one up. There’s complexity to the plot and plenty of action.”
Kim Borg completed a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Behavioural Studies and Anthropology. Research is her passion as well as her profession. She started her career as a social researcher working across topics like road safety, health and wellbeing, and the environment. In 2016 Borg began working at Monash Sustainable Development Institute’s BehaviourWorks Australia where she was able to apply research skills to real-world behavioural and sustainability challenges. Kim Borg has a particular interest in the human-nature relationship and the impacts of media on society. This interest led her to start a PhD in behaviour change in 2018, exploring the role of media in influencing perceptions and behaviours around single-use plastics. She has published several academic research papers. In addition, she has written news articles and been interviewed on the subject of media, behaviour change, and plastics. (See https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/kim-borg for more).
Borg is a devoted dog-parent of two cheeky but adorable beagliers, Mars and Loki (named for the Roman and Norse gods, not the chocolate bar or Marvel villain). Her love of TV series, documentaries, movies, and dogs is shared by her husband, Adrian.